


Crossing the Line

by Everlind



Category: Homestuck, Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Humanstuck, M/M, Mind Meld, Unethical Use of Kaiju Parts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-22
Updated: 2014-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-05 19:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1829398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everlind/pseuds/Everlind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up wise guy,” you crane your head to look over your other shoulder again. “I don’t suppose you can give me a hand?”</p><p>Karkat’s mouth curls and it’s not nice at all. “Why Egbert, but that would mean crossing the line,” he says.</p><p>-*-</p><p>Featuring John Egbert as Newton and Karkat Vantas as Gottlieb</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crossing the Line

“FOR THE LAST FUCKING TIME NO KAIJU ENTRAILS ON MY SIDE OF THE ROOM, YOU INCOMPETENT BUFFOON! YOU KNOW THE GODDAMN RULES!” 

It’s just a day like all the other days.

Rolling your eyes, you blow a hank of hair out of face before pushing a little deeper. The carcass squelches around your forearms and you swirl your fingertips around in the squishy chunky slimy silicon-based goodness. _Yummy_ (actually you are kinda hungry, wow. Hm, you’re pretty sure Karkat has a fruit salad in the fridge. You hope he leaves soon to go and do whatever it is he does when he’s not being a shouty asshole in the lab). Now. Where is -oh there, hahah. Du’h. You yank. It doesn’t budge. Shit. Now what.

“Egbert are you done fellating whatever piece of Kaiju you have in your grubby little paws? I can’t work with this shit lying around on _my_ side of the lab, clean it up before I come and shove it down your garbage gob until you can lovingly shit it right back out again.”

“Calm down, geez. It’s only a spleen, just toss it back over,” you tell him long-sufferingly. Stupid dumb nerd with his stupid dumb and completely unnecessary histrionics. Pfff. You dig with your second hand towards your first and wrap it firmly around the slick gland without crushing it. Pull. Hm. Okay. Pull a little harder. It’s really firmly attached. You need a scalpel. Maybe a chainsaw. You’re not asking Karkat to hand you one.

“I’m not touching that, you compulsive taint sucker.”

“It’s not gonna bite, dude,” you scoff.

Karkat strides towards the line of hazmat tape and nearly (but not quite) leans over it to bare his teeth at you. Despite his dark olive skin, he seems pallid and drained. You wonder when the last time was he slept. Not that it matters or anything. You just don’t want him to become a liability, is all. “Your depraved fondling has rendered it nearly unrecognisable, not to mention it has been lying around trailing ichor and collecting dust for fuck knows how long and if you do not pick it up now I will feed it to your demented lizard!” he brandishes his chalk at you. Ooooh, scary. 

Fine. You don’t want to risk him flipping his shit completely and actually dropping it in Casey’s tank. “All right, all right. Calm your tits,” you grumble.

But when you make to pull out you find that you —oh shit. Can’t. You’re stuck. Oh wow. Oh double shit.

“Today, maybe, if it pleases mister egregious dribble of stale cocksnot.”

“…did you just call me jizz?” you ask, looking over your shoulder at him as best as you can. Raise both brows. He glares back. Touchy. “Besides, I kinda can’t do that.”

Karkat’s cheeks puff out like a demented chipmunk and his eyes bulge a little. He takes a deep breath.

“I’m stuck!” you yell quickly before he starts screaming. You know. Again.

“You— you what now?”

Okay, this is really embarrassing. Not to mention you’re getting a crick in your neck from trying to look at him. “I’m stuck,” you repeat. “As incapable of removing my hands from this chunk of Kaiju.” Pretty sure you caught your watch on something or other.

That’s when you first hear it. A snort, followed by a chuckle. A bark of laughter.

Nice. You sigh and hang your head. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up wise guy,” you crane your head to look over your other shoulder again. “I don’t suppose you can give me a hand?”

Karkat’s mouth curls and it’s not nice at all. “Why Egbert, but that would mean crossing the line,” he says.

You gape at him. With a twitch of his brow he spins on his heel, makes to leave. “Hey, whoa there! Wait a minute, you can’t-“ you splutter.

“Seems like you’re on your own,” Karkat says, sounding as cheerful as you’ve ever heard him. “Dude.”

And he’s gone. Leaving you alone in the lab stuck up to your elbows in dead Kaiju. 

Now what.

*

You don’t forgive him for that one.

All in all you were lucky Sollux came in at the asscrack of _you don’t even know what time_ to fix Karkat’s computers. Again. 

(do ii even want two know?)

On top of that Dad rejected your theory in favor for Karkat’s. And, you know. _Fine_. You don’t want to get a special treatment or dumb advantages because you’re the Marshal’s son. But you’re _right_.

You are so right about this. So right and they’re listening to Karkat and his dumb numbers instead. You know you are and you are going to show them all (but especially Karkat). 

You are going to do _science_.

(okay no you’re going to drift with a piece of Kaiju and probably melt your brain, in which case everything is Karkat’s fault _HAH_! or. _Or_. You don’t die and you’ll be so right! In which case also HAH. You win. Oh man.)

So, sure, you’re not the genius Dirk or Equius is when it comes to robotics, but you’re good enough to piece a Pons together. It’s looking good, considering you tinkered with leftover parts you nicked from the repair-bay. Welp, this is as good as it’s gonna get, really. With shaking hands you raise the squid cap and put it on.

“See you on the other side Casey,” you tell her cheerfully. She floats towards the glass and sticks her tongue against it. Cutie. You hope you’ll… yeah. In the worst case, Karkat will take care of her. You hope. Wow. “Or not,” you add.

You push the button.

*

Turns out it was the stupidest thing you’ve ever done (and you’ve done a lot of stupid things).

Turns out you were _right_.

Suck on _that_ , Vantas.

*

“Where did you even get that?” Karkat demands, huddling in his oversized jacket and shivering. The sun is shining. Maybe he’s allergic to daylight.

“Gamzee,” you grunt at him from where you’re hammering iron electrodes through the baby Kaiju’s skull with a heavy mallet (Gamzee couldn’t have been a bro and scooped the brain out for you, could he? Nooo. All _here you are motherucker_ , a whole damn Kaiju head (albeit a small one). Have fun. Say hi to Karkat for me. Lovely. Great. Fuck this why won’t your nose stop bleeding. Urgh). Also, hammers are cool. They should make a Jaeger with a hammer, but nobody ever listens to you, do they. Until now. Please Drift with a piece of Kaiju again, John. We need the information, John. As soon as possible, John. Why are you still here, John, the world is kinda ending. Yeah, yeah.

“Oh my fucking god,” he says, rubbing at his temples. 

“Instead of complaining, help me out,” you tell him. Pause to wipe sweat from your brow. “Or leave. Your call.” 

Karkat stands, arms crossed defensively and narrows his eyes as he peers up at you, the sun backlighting you and blinding him. Blood dribbles out of your nostril and runs down your lips as you stare right back. Thick and sluggish, it collects in the dip under your lower lip, before dropping to splatter on the head. 

Karkat’s eyes follow it. A muscle near his eye jumps. “Fuck,” he suddenly snarls, scrambling up the head and snatching the hammer out of your hands. “Give me that, you waste of air.” 

He misses the first time. Nearly smashes a hole right into your specimen. You squeak in distress. “What are you-“

“There’s no way you’re going to survive doing that again,” he gasps as he swings the hammer again. Hits the pin this time, at least.

“But-“

“That’s why-“ he growls right over your protest. “That’s why I’m going with you.”

“I don’t-“

“Shut the shitlicking fuck up for a one goddamn second, John, holy fuck.”

Your jaws clicks shut.

“I’ll share the load,” Karkat says. “Together, like the pilots do.”

“You’d-“

“ _Yes_.”

“Oh.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

With one last swing, he drives the final pin home. Straightens and gives you a sideways look. “I’m not doing it for you,” he says, but it’s not as dismissive as could’ve been. “Because I am right, too.”

Raising a hand to hide your smile, you nod. “Uh-huh, sure,” clear your throat and stumble gracelessly down to land on terra firma. “Let’s do this.”

Karkat’s heavy boots thump to the ground behind you. “Let’s make this happen,” he finishes. He sounds like he might be smiling.

Aw, hell yes.

*

Sitting at the piano you’re not allowed to touch. Mom curling your fingers over the keys her black hair touched gold in the low sun _like this John_

Karkat’s mother cleaning the dirt off his face _what happened on the ground again laughing at you as they kick over and over it hurts pointing at your face my mommy says you’re a bad egg rotten gone dark like your skin standing up and pushing back on your knees but not defeated yet suddenly everything your fault_

Standing over a grave knowing it is empty. Nothing left to bury. Your dad tells you you look a lot like your mother _but she’s dead isn’t she died when Atticon came died now on your chest over your heart remember can never belong too smart for everything too dumb for everything else only got so far because you’re the Marshal’s son_

_the needle burns colors swirling over your skin up your arms why do you like them killed her never coming back why_

_Mom_

_Mom_

At the back of your minds something else. Stirring. Burrowing. Like maggots in rotten flesh.

Karkat curled up under the sheets with a romance novel hidden in a text on Numerical Analysis, lighting the pages with a flashlight _glowing like the headlights in the lab on a Jaeger running through the grass as fast as you can but Terezi is faster_

_paying the piano over and over until it’s perfect like numbers always right so elegant and constant never tell you lies and make promises it’s me not you_

_Terezi_

_Rose_

Loss. Your loss. His. A lot of loss.

_asleep on the desk again probably awake all night colorful arms crossed eyes shut drooling a little not so bad when he’s asleep it’s such a nice smile lopsidedwryshy try to make him laugh like it when he laughs should laugh more should laugh less always laughing_

_it’s nice_

Flood of emotion _oh shit he can see that can’t he yes I can holy shit I AM IN YOUR HEAD really think I have pretty eyes SHUT UP hey now calm down always shouting geez_

_ate my goddamn food again wonder if it crushed her or ate her killed the city glistens slick eat them all things moving inside bursting like ripe fruit and spilling out dead gone_

_kill all of you already dead_

Karkat’s brain shies away violently _is that_

 _yes_  

Spindly and insectoid, eyes shiny round like gems. Not evil or malicious not really, it doesn’t care enough for that. The Precursor sees you and knows you and you are 

nothing

_watching them not impressed all dead soon not relevant waited and waited and waited ready now will harvest you your world_

_ours_

The world snaps back like a rubber band being released. You reel and slump sideways. Blood covers your chin and neck. Glancing sideways you can see Karkat’s eyes are shot red. He bit his lip.

“You alright, buddy?” you manage.

“Fanfuckingtastic,” he says, blinking rapidly. “I was right. So fuck you. Also fuck you and fuck everybody else. Hang on.”

And then he scrambles away to puke spectacularly into a trash can.

Gross.

*

Your name is Terezi Pyrope and you know a Drift hangover when you smell one.

It’s there in the way John will lift his hand and push it into Karkat’s face before he even opens his mouth to yell. 

It’s there in the way Karkat will push glasses up his nose that aren’t there.

It’s there in the way they sometimes finish each other’s sentences. Using the exact infliction of the other. And then frown. Usually _at_ each other. All _this is your fault!_

Most of all it is the way they _don’t_ look at each other.

And shout. Even more than usual. (YOU SHUT YOUR HIDEOUS FLAPPING SPEWHOLE EGBERT. DON’T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE. you can’t cause this is my side of the lab, see? has caution tape and everything. and look! a little sign that says: stupidheads not allowed. that’s you karkat.)

Soooo much shouting. Bluh. You’d think that after having being in each other’s heads they’d- y’know. Get _bizzay_. But you know Karkat. He’s a stupidumb. And through Rose, you know John. He’s a stupidextradumb.

Exactly why this will be so very easy.

All it takes is slipping in. Nothing new. You were hankering for piece (or five) of Karkat’s yummy high grade red chalk anyway. Smooth and soundless like a ninja (Dave would be so proud). Neither of them notices. Karkat is peering at the screen of his computer, hair on end. John is flat on his back and crawling into an open maw of what looks to be a miniature Kaiji skull (propped open with a ruler. Seven rulers. Taped together and bowing under the weight of the upper jaw. How is this idiot still alive?). 

Red chalk acquired you flit right back out again.

But not before flinging a piece at John.

(a white piece, not a red one that would be a most grievous waste)

*

Something hits your butt, ricochets off it and lands into the back of your shirt.

You go: _eeehyeaaahlff_ and flail a little. Nearly impale yourself on some teeth rearing up. Scramble out as fast as you can, bat at your clothes in a panic as something skitters down your spine _oh god what is it_ (maybe some type of previously undiscovered parasite, wow that would be pretty cool. You know. If it doesn’t tunnel into your flesh and ravage your insides first or whatever). It goes _tok!_ against the concrete floor as it falls out of your shirt. A piece of chalk.

“What the fuck, dude?!” You screech at Karkat’s back. Can feel your hair stick up in a magnificent cowlick from being slicked against the Kaiju’s hard palate. 

Karkat goes _muh_ and his head drops a few inches before rearing up again. “What?” he goes muzzily, pretending like he’s all innocent and exhausted, with a line of annoyance betweens his brows as he swivels in his chair to glare at you. “What’s your problem _this_ time?” he snarls.

And you just. You’re so _angry_. Because he keeps pretending like nothing every happened - _he was in your head_ , he knows that as unalike as both of you are your thoughts don’t mirror but they match, don’t they? Different but slotting together and he’s such an asshole. He knows what your problem is.

“My problem?” you shout. “I’ll tell you what my problem is, Karkat! It’s _you_!” You throw the first thing you get your hands on.

A piece of dissected Kaiju gizzard.

It’s already flying through the air when you realize what you just did. _Oh poo_. And then it hits Karkat smack dab on his forehead. It makes an expressive, uh, sound. That of dead Kaiju parts hitting another person in the face. Karkat blinks. His cheeks go red. You brace yourself.

Karkat explodes.

“You little shit,” he goes, shoving away from his desk. His chair topples and crashes to the floor. “YOU FUCKING PILE OF EXCREMENT.” He heaves a stack of paperwork at you. The sheets flutter in a whirl and, well, pretty much don’t go anywhere at all.

“Pffff,” you go, because what an idiot, right? “You got me - _ow_! OW HEY STOP THA— ack!”

Karkat has a lot of books. You take cover behind a desk and _bingo!_ find a bag of old Gushers. Before you can be tempted to, you know, try and eat one, you pelt them more or less blindly over the edge. At least one must make its mark because Karkat makes a noise of absolute disgust. 

Pffahahahah. Score. You gotta see this. 

You poke your head up over the edge only to choke on- what the?! Is he clapping his _erasers_ at you? Clapping them and smothering you in a cloud of dusty white chalk.

You grab a jar of cytophlegm and splash him with it.

Karkat throws one of the erasers. 

Misses.

You go _hah!_ and then _OW!_ as the second knocks you over the head.

Damn that actually really hurt! That’s gonna be a bump. “You’re such an asshole,” you snarl at him, reeling a little. Find that you’re right at the line of hazmat tape to be able to yell at him better.

“Back off asswipe, that’s my side,” he snaps, pointing at how the toe of your sneaker is perhaps a millimetre accross the line of tape had it stretched on towards the ground.

“What are you gonna do, huh, Karkat?” you jeer and -slide your foot as for as perhaps a whole centimetre on his side. Unprecedented!

“I’m warning you,” Karkat growls.

You roll yours eyes. “Oooh, I’m so scared. Wah!” and then go _wah_ for real as his hand shoots out and grabs your tie. Geez, for such a labdwelling stringbean he’s pretty strong.

“Last warning, shit for brains. Back off or suffer the consequences.” Karkat whispers it, the rusty red of his irises underscored by the dark smears of exhaustion under his eyes. He’s glaring right back into yours. _Pretty eyes_.

“Or what?” you hiss back.

He kisses you. Or you kiss him. It doesn’t matter much.

What matters is that Karkat has never kissed anyone before (once, only once, Terezi. They were thirteen. She let him hold her hand after) and he holds his lips as rigid as his hand is clenched around John’s tie. What matters is the sudden rush of, well, actually you’re not sure what. It’s heady and sudden and wow, he’s got ridiculously long dark lashes and he smells like-

Okay. He smells like Kaiju entrails. Your fault.

What matters is that he’s pulling away, eyes downcast and lips pinched thin and angry — no. _Disappointed_ , you can read him if you want to, now. Angry soon, though. At himself. With a jolt of panic you realize that if you don’t curbstomp your brain from talking a mile a minute you’ll never get to kiss him again and, wow, no. Hell no.

You chase him -he hasn’t gone far- and catch his lips. He exhales, hard and shaking. His fingers convulse hard enough to nearly choke you. And he responds, a little clumsy, but you can feel the shiver all the way down your spine. Touch the sharp line of his jaw hesitantly with the tips of your fingers, he’s nervous and tense and your lips are trembling and his exhale comes hot into your mouth — you kiss him then, with his mouth relaxed and get to feel wet heat of his mouth lingering at the edges of his lips and Karkat makes this noise, rough and hungry and _wow holy shit_ both his arms wrap over your shoulders and his hands plunge into your hair. His tongue slides against yours and his back arches and you can feel him groan into your mouth.

He’s definitely crossing the line.

 

You… you think you’ll let it slide.

For now. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is Orangelemon's fault.


End file.
